News, reviews and information on the bars, lounges and drinks of Walt Disney World and more!

Category Archives: Rose and Crown Pub

A new nighttime adult-oriented offering is coming to Epcot. The “After Hours Wind Down” starts April 17th and is currently scheduled to run through September 15th (shortly before the Food and Wine Festival starts.) Official description of the event from the reservations page:

Following a fantastic fireworks spectacular, stick around Epcot as you take your pick from 4 exclusive lounges and satisfy your senses with tempting cuisine, as created by award-winning Epcot chefs and sommeliers.

The four participating locations will each offer a different drinking and dining experience (subject to change), and AJ of the Disney Food Blog shared some details on what might be available at each lounge:

La Cava del Tequila– Mexico Pavilion Guests can choose from one of the following beverage choices:

Tequila flight

Shot of Tequila Ambhar Blanco

Shot of Tequila Partida Reposado

Shot of Tequila Casa Noble Añejo

Shot of Mezcal Sombra Blanco

The food sampler will include Ceviche Acapulqueño (Shrimp cocktail Acapulco Style), Tlacoyo de Puerco (Marinated Pork served over a grilled corn dough), and Tostada de Tinga (Chicken tostada, garnished with mixed greens, creme fresco and avocado)

The menu for this location may include traditional cured meats, cheeses, and Italian antipasti paired with Italian wine flights.

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Admission to the Epcot After Hours Wind Down costs $35 per guest, and tax and gratuity are not included. (At present, this event does not appear to be Tables in Wonderland eligible.) To make reservations (up to 180 days in advance) go to www.disneyworld.com/spring, call 407-WDW-DINE, or check in with Epcot Guest Relations during your stay to see if space is available.

Last year, I packed up my husband Rich, our three sons, and my parents and headed for Walt Disney World. I’d been there before with my parents (as a kid), and I’d been there before with my family, but this was the first time we all went together. It was fantastic! One of the fantastic-est things about visiting the World with my parents along? Date night!

On our Epcot day, after dinner, the boys were getting a little tired. Mom and Dad were more than willing to take them back to the resort for a swim, allowing Rich and I to stroll around the World Showcase. We enjoyed margaritas in Mexico, beer in Germany, a Bellini in Italy, and ended up at the UK Pavilion’s Rose and Crown Pub for a snack and – you guessed it – more drinks.

Rich opted for the Single Malt Scotch flight, while I had the Pimm’s Cup. I’d never had one before, and loved it! It was sweet and fruity – just how I like my alcoholic beverages.It’s definitely a pinky-up drink, and one that I’ve since worked into my regular repertoire (in fact, I’m sipping one right now as I type). It made me feel totally British. In fact, it made me feel so British that I strolled across the street to the shops (while my husband continued with his Scotch flight), bought a knock-off of Kate Middleton’s engagement ring (AKA Princess Diana’s engagement ring, if you’re old like me), and returned to the pub to show off my new bling before Rich had finished his tour of Scotland!If you don’t like to taste the alcohol in your alcohol, I highly recommend you try a Pimm’s Cup the next time you visit Epcot!

One question I seem to get a lot is “What is your favorite drink at Walt Disney World?” I honestly have no one overall favorite because there are so many drinks at the Walt Disney World Resort that I enjoy. But I do have my favorites from various locations around property so I thought I would share some of those.

Here are five of my favorite drinks from five different locations, in no particular order.

1. Pina Colada – Tambu Lounge, Disney’s Polynesian Resort

I’m not sure what it is about the pina coladas at the Tambu, but they are the best pina coladas I have ever had. I don’t even order pina coladas anywhere else anymore because they just do not compare. I suppose it doesn’t hurt that they are served in a cool tiki glass either.

Is this drink beautiful or what? Before even tasting a drop, I was struck by the gorgeous combination of colors. But a beautiful drink is useless if it doesn’t taste good. Fortunately, the Welsh Dragon does not suffer from that problem.

Grandma’s Picnic Punch has the distinction of being the most non-alcoholic tasting, alcoholic drink I have ever tasted. (Really, it does make sense.) For those who want a cocktail that doesn’t taste like liquor but has a good kick to it, this is the one.

Official description: Grandma concocted a wonderful drink for the family picnic—Skyy Vodka, Peach Schnapps, Crème de Cassis, Light Lemonade, and Pineapple Juice.

5. Harambe Cooler – Dawa Bar, Animal Kingdom

Why is the rum gone? I’m pretty sure it’s because it all ended up in this drink. This is a rum lover’s dream.

We stopped by the Rose and Crown Pub last weekend and had a chance to try another one of their pub blends so I thought we’d take a closer look at what they offer.

The various "pub blends" at the Rose and Crown

Undoubtedly, the most well known, and I suspect the most popular, is the “Black & Tan.” Over the years, we’ve certainly had plenty of those. Another one that makes our list often is the “Snake Bite.” But on this visit, we decided to give the “Cider & Black” a try.

Pay no attention to the Welsh Dragon lurking on the right...

The Cider & Black is made from cider and black currant juice. I regret that I was too busy chatting with a fellow bar patron (he was very much interested in that beauty known as the Welsh Dragon) to pay attention to which cider they used, but I suspect it was the Strongbow. (If anyone knows for certain, I would love the clarification.)

The taste of this pub blend was quite good. I was happy to find that it wasn’t too overly sweet from the black currant juice, or anything more sweet than the usual cider taste anyway. There was just a hint of the black currant coming through and it made for a pleasant mix. I do expect this drink will make another appearance in my Epcot drink rotation soon.

Do you enjoy the pub blends at the Rose and Crown? What’s your favorite?

A popular stop for those Drinking Around the World, and one of my favorite places on property to grab a drink, is the Rose and Crown Pub. Connected to the Rose and Crown Restaurant, there is something for everyone here.

When you first enter the pub, you’ll notice that it’s not very big. Even more so than La Cava del Tequila, seating is at a premium here. A few tables line the wall where the windows are and directly across the path lies the bar, which has no stools. We stopped by at Christmas, thus the lovely garland.

While there are not a lot of tables and chairs, the bar is relatively comfortable to stand at. However, if you’d prefer to sit and enjoy a couple of drinks or a quick snack, your best bet is to go by early in the day. We often make this one of our first stops at World Showcase when it opens and have had good luck with getting a table then. There is some additional seating outside, but no respite from the Florida heat can be found there.

Most stop by the Rose and Crown for the beer and pub blends.

As you can see, there are some excellent choices, but for those who have a hard time deciding what to have, you might go with the Imperial Sampler which includes samples of Bass, Harp, Strongbow, Boddington’s and Guinness.

My personal choice for many years when we stopped by the Rose and Crown was to have a beer and fish and chips. But this past Christmas, on the 12 Drinks of Christmas quest, I made it a point to give one of the cocktails a try. It was hard to choose, but I ultimately went with the Welsh Dragon as listed below.

I am happy to say the Welsh Dragon is now one of my favorite drinks at Walt Disney World. I know some might be put off by the creme de menthe, but it’s pretty subtle and the ingredients actually made for a delicious combination. Not only tasty, this was a beautiful drink.

If you are a scotch fan, there is a nice selection of it, including two scotch flights. They also serve a limited menu of pub fare. My favorite item on the menu is the fish and chips, which are a smaller portion to the ones sold in the restaurant, and similar in size to the ones served outside at the Yorkshire County Fish Shop. While I have never tried one, I hear the Scotch Eggs are pretty good as well.

The Rose and Crown Pub opens around 11:30 a.m. each day, but its closing hours vary so check while you’re at the park. If you find yourself in at Epcot in the early evening, the Rose and Crown has live entertainment as provided by the “Hat Lady” so you might stop by for one of her shows.

The Rose and Crown Pub accepts Tables in Wonderland. For a couple additional photos, please see our photo gallery.

It’s Happy Hour! Our drink today is the English Rose which is found at the Rose and Crown Restaurant and Pub at the United Kingdom Pavillion in Epcot.

I actually tried this drink for the first time last weekend and I have to say, it was really quite good. They put the drink in a 16 oz. plastic cup for the “to-go” version, so we’ll start by filling a 16 oz glass with ice and then Bartender Kate gave me the following recipe:

1.5 oz Gin (Rose and Crown uses Beefeater)

1.5 oz Apricot Brandy

A splash of Sweet Vermouth

1 oz each of Orange Juice, Cranberry Juice, and Pineapple Juice

Pour into shaker and mix.

Pour into glass and garnish with orange and cherry.

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A note on having this drink at the Rose and Crown Restaurant or Pub. It normally comes in a hard plastic souvenir cup which, like the glow cubes, you pay a premium for. If you’d rather skip the souvenir cup, just ask them to make it a to-go cup and it will cost about $3.00 less.